Baldur's Gate 3 - Part 28 - The Grym Reaper

Storyline / Context

The party explores the Adamantine Forge to craft items and recover loot. The forge requires four stations/platforms to operate in concert: insert ore and mold, pull a lever, open a lava valve, then pull the lever again to finish forging.

While operating the forge the group summons (or wakes) a powerful construct called Grimm — the Grym Reaper. Grimm is a high-HP, heavily-armored lava/construct enemy with unusual immunities and a violent phase-two earthquake ability. Defeating him yields heavy armor, a helmet, and a shield made from his remains.

Forge operation (step-by-step)

1. Insert ore and chosen mold into the correct crucible/chamber.
2. Pull the lever to drop the hammer partially.
3. Open the lava valve to flow lava over the crucible.
4. Pull the lever again to complete forging.

• Use four party members (one per station/platform) to operate smoothly.
• Be very careful of positioning: standing on the hammer platform when a lever is pulled will crush allies.

Loot / Crafted items obtained

• Adamantine splint armor (heavy; AC 18)
  • Reduces incoming damage by 2.
  • Causes attackers to reel (attack penalties that stack per turn remaining).
• Helm made from Grimm’s head
  • Heavy-armor helm with fire resistance.
  • Prevents crits from attackers.
  • Grants a hunter’s-mark-like special property.
• Shield (crafted last from remaining ore)
  • +2 shield.
  • On a missed melee attack the attacker is sent reeling.
  • Has a reaction that can knock attackers prone if they fail a Dexterity save.

The party prioritized revives and on-field recovery (revivify, potions) rather than spending scrolls unnecessarily.

Enemy: Grimm (The Grym Reaper) — specifics & mechanics

• Very high HP (around 450 when encountered) and high AC; low mental saves.
• Immunities / resistances:
  • Immune or highly resistant to psychic, poison, necrotic, fire, lightning, and sometimes radiant.
  • Strong resistance to force in places.
• Vulnerability:
  • Weak to bludgeoning damage — the primary exploitable offensive weakness.
• Movement / behavior:
  • Becomes “superheated” when interacting with lava; terrain/valve usage affects his resistances and phases.
  • Vengeful guardian trait: tends to target the last creature that struck him.
  • Phase two includes an earthquake effect plus additional summoned enemies that can quickly destroy separated party members.

Strategies and key tips from the episode

• Forge basics (reminder)

  • Place mold and ore, pull lever, open valve, pull lever again.
  • Use four operators for the stations; coordinate position to avoid environmental kills.

• Primary combat tactics vs Grimm

  • Exploit the bludgeoning weakness: equip and use warhammers, thrown light hammers, or other bludgeoning sources.
  • Lure and positioning:
    • Use high-accuracy ranged attacks to bait Grimm onto specific tiles (central hammer platform).
    • Use slow effects (Ray of Frost) to control his movement.
  • Improve hit chance:
    • Use Bless and the staff-of-arcane-blessing effect (grants bonus to spell attack rolls) on the spellcasters who need improved accuracy.
    • Guiding Bolt and other setup attacks can grant advantage even if their damage types are otherwise weak.
  • Crowd control and aggro management:
    • Use blindness/slow to make hits easier.
    • Pull aggro onto a sturdy bait/tank to protect fragile casters.
  • Valve / hammer timing:
    • Double-check party placement before pulling levers — the hammer can crush allies.
  • Phase-two preparation:
    • Expect additional summons and an earthquake.
    • Keep key members positioned to avoid massive AoE/knockdown and have potions/scrolls ready.
  • Summons/familiars:
    • Many lack ranged attacks and are limited as bait; a crab summon can still distract or slightly move Grimm.

Combat composition & role adjustments that helped

• Put Bless / staff buff on the spellcasters who need accuracy boosts rather than non-spellcasters.
• Use a hardy melee character (e.g., Carlac/Carl) to bait and absorb hits while other characters throw bludgeoning weapons or attack from range.
• Bring multiple healing and revival options (potions, scrolls, revivify).
• Swap gear to maximize bludgeoning where needed — give hammers to several party members, consider thrown bludgeoning weapons.

Mistakes & lessons learned

• Don’t assume environmental or saucer/anti-magic effects will disable Grimm — read descriptors and test.
• Splitting the team too widely prevented effective group healing and Bless coverage; balance spacing with station assignments.
• Pulling levers without checking placements caused friendly deaths from hammer crushes—always double-check positions first.
• Phase two is extremely punishing: if Grimm’s earthquake affects many characters, it can wipe the party quickly. Keep him isolated and focus burst bludgeoning to end the fight.

What ultimately worked (final successful approach)

• Equip multiple party members with bludgeoning weapons (warhammers, thrown light hammers) and rely less on the hammer trap alone.
• Keep high-accuracy buffs (Bless / staff) on characters making the luring shots.
• Maintain one dedicated bait/tank on the platform while ranged/throwing characters guide Grimm’s movement.
• Keep revival and potion contingency plans ready for casualties.

Result: Grimm was defeated by concentrated bludgeoning and careful positioning; armor, helm, and shield were crafted and distributed.

Final tactical takeaway: exploit bludgeoning weakness, control positioning, and be prepared for a punishing phase two.

Final notes & next objectives

• There is more of the forge area to explore (a mysterious amulet, treasure, and possibly the Night Song).
• The host plans to continue cleanup and follow-up exploration in the next episode.

Gamers / Sources Featured

• ManyATrueNerd (host)
• John (participant / co-commentator)